Open House 02
Treasure and transform: conserving and evolving the Dartington estate
Open House 02 (2-4 November 2018) focussed on telling the story of some of the extraordinary conservation work that happens on our estate, collaborating with you on the future use of our land and engaging you in a dialogue about the restoration and evolution of High Cross House and our Shops.
The theme of ‘Treasure and Transform’ was chosen because we are interested in the relationship between conservation and evolution. Our ambition is to achieve the best results possible by honouring and celebrating the history of Dartington, caring for our land, our wildlife and our buildings and transforming the estate into our vision for a sustainable future – and we are opening a discussion about how best to do this.
PLEASE NOTE: this page exists as a documented record of this event and we cannot guarantee that the information shown here is up to date. Please use the links in the top menu bar to access the most current information about Dartington.
Exhibitions
High Cross House: the past and the future
A chance to see some of the intriguing and beautiful images of High Cross House, pulled from our archive collection. Learn about High Cross House’s controversial past and plans for intriguing, game-changing future.
The Shops at Dartington
We had loads of interesting and useful feedback about The Shops from our first Open House event, which we’ve worked into the plans for their future. Come and see some of the concepts and ideas for their transformation.
Gardens Master Plan – The Valley Field Project
At Open House 01, award winning garden designer Dan Pearson presented his Gardens Masterplan. Valley Field is a key project in that plan – come and take a closer look.
Conservation Café
Pop along to the Conservation Café for the chance to see some of the fascinating conservation projects happening on the estate. Birds, moths, butterflies, beetles and bats – find out how the conservationists and volunteers are working to encourage these species to thrive.
Talks and tours
A Development Update with Martyn Evans
Open House 01 introduced many of the plans for transformation and development on the estate. Come along for an update on how we start to bring some of those exciting plans forward.
Land Use Review 2 – River Dart Charter
A workshop exploring how we care for the River Dart. Get involved with creating a community charter for the River Dart. In collaboration with Bioregional Learning Centre
Biodiversity and conservation talks
A series of short talks from our conservation team and volunteers explaining the incredible conservation work happening on the estate and how Dartington is actively increasing biodiversity on our land.
Tractor tours: biodiversity and conservation projects
Join Estate Manager John Channon and Conservationist Mike Newby for a tour of the key conservation projects blossoming on the estate. Duration 60 mins approx.
Sarah Gillespie Open Studio
A drop in session and chance to see the captivating work of local artist Sarah Gillespie who, along with our Executive Director of Arts, Amy Bere, will be on hand to chat about the arts at Dartington.
Land Use Review 2 – Our Forest Manifesto
Over 25{79560583362c74f5fdd4dfc2a8c00f056dfa59ea50e6cb7c86d5030cf0398bdd} of the Trust’s land is forested and since the time of the Elmhirsts, we’ve been at the forefront of innovative forestry projects. Come and learn more about the future of forestry and trees on the estate and input your ideas on our Forest Manifesto.
Tractor tour and walk with Mike Gardener
Learn the fascinating history of trees on our estate, for example how the redwoods came to Dartington, and see how innovative thinking can evolve these wonderful habitats for future generations.
Garden Masterplan – The Valley Field project
Estate manager John Channon talks about how we are realising the first project in Dan Pearson’s Garden Masterplan portfolio.
Getting here
In addition to all the usual ways you can visit Dartington (click here for further details), Bob the Bus will be running a regular, free shuttle service for Open House 02 between 9.30am and 4pm on Friday 2 and Saturday 3 November.
Scheduled stops are: Seven Stars Hotel, Totnes > Drift Records > Webbers Yard > Dartington Shops > High Cross House > The Green Table.
Food and drink
The team from our Green Table café will be on hand at High Cross House during most events (2-3 November, 10am-4:30pm both days). Pop along to their Conservation Café for hot drinks, yummy cakes, warming soup and the chance to see some of the fascinating conservation projects happening on the estate.
The Conservation Café is just one of five exhibitions taking place during Open House 02 – click here to explore them all.
Accessibility information
Access at High Cross House: Most of the programmed events are on the ground floor of High Cross House. Unfortunately, when the building was built, little thought was given to access for those with limited mobility. The upper floors of the house do not allow access for those in wheelchairs. We are acutely aware of how unfair this is, and it is one of the areas we are exploring in the restoration of High Cross House. For those with limited mobility, our stewards will be on hand to assist.
High Cross House is open during Open House 02 – but please note that access to some room will be restricted to ticket holders at certain times of the day.